September 18th

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:” Matthew 5:1-2

when we think the poor
should be left alone because
they are guaranteed heaven,
have mercy.
when we think those trapped
in the quicksand of grief
can get out on their own,
have mercy.
when we think the humble
deserve the dirt thrown in their face
because they are weak,
have mercy.
when we think those who seek justice
for the forgotten and despised
are just a bunch of bleeding hearts,
have mercy.
when we think those who are generous
to anyone who stands on street corners
are suckers pure and simple,
have mercy.
when we think those who refuse
to trade their faith for hate and fear
are blind to the reality of the world,
have mercy.
when we think those who challenge
the politics of power and might
are doddering old fools,
have mercy.
when we think the wisest course
of action in life is to forsake you
and swear allegiance to evil,
have mercy on us, Lord,
have mercy.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 17th

“O LORD, who may abide in your tent?
   Who may dwell on your holy hill?” Psalm 15:1

those who stumble yet get up,
those who never win a ribbon,
those whose grief is a flickering candle,
those whose tears water seeds of hope—
they are the ones who abide with you.
those who open doors
not the ones who guard inner sanctums.
those who use the thread of justice
to mend the torn fabric of others’ lives.
those whose hands tremble in fear
yet reach out to the excluded,
the unheard, the unseen.
those who are so exhausted from
trying to heal the brokenness of the world,
yet refuse to stay in bed each day.
those who, when the truth-tellers
and the grace-givers are threatened,
pitch their tents next to them,
refusing to leave them on their own.
they are the ones who know the way
to your compassionate heart.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 16th

“From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17

whenever outsiders are welcomed
by those who set aside
their ingrained fears and suspicions,
another family moves into
the Beloved Community.
whenever we refuse to let
anger control the conversation,
cruelty to plant its flag in our hearts,
hopelessness place a seed in our souls,
the Beloved Community becomes
even more appealing to doubters.
whenever we give our favorite clothes
to those out of favor with the privileged,
whenever we realize the folks
living at the shelter deserve to eat
as well and healthily as we do,
whenever we treat the forgotten
as if they are long-lost family,
we discover that we are closer
to the Beloved Community
that we ever imagined.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 15th

“Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
    your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.” Psalm 135:13

there, in the mist of dawns
so far back we cannot count
when language was simply
grunts and guttural sounds,
your name was spoken,
and people longed for your touch.
in the hidden places where
the fearful were tortured for believing
and in grand cathedrals with words
whose eloquence resound to today,
your name was spoken,
and people longed for your touch.
now, when anger and cruelty
seek to drag us back into that miasma
where language is simply
guttural sounds and grunts,
we still speak your name,
hoping you listen.
we still long for your touch,
yearning for you to reach out.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 14th

“He raises the poor from the dust,
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
   with the princes of his people.” Psalm 113:7-8

covered with the detritus of life,
palms callused from unskilled labor,
we ignore you, but when
we fall into the cracks of life,
you are the one who pulls us out,
when we wander down alleys
where no one knows us,
you come calling our names.
not out of any pity, but pure delight,
taking us out to dinner,
not to sit in the corner reserved
for the forgotten, but
at the table where the party
has already started,
where our scarred lives
are considered to be holy.
and there, where
the poor become honored,
the empty become family,
the broken become beloved
we sit, gobsmacked,
that we are in their midst.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 13th

“You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
   you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
   you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers,
   fire and flame your ministers.” Psalm 104:2b-4

Designer of dawns,
flinging stars like paint splatters
across the still skies of night,
you craft a refuge with space enough
for every question or silence,
a mercy wide enough
for every whispered hope.
you could use the mountains
to build your house, but
choose those wild waters we fear,
showing us that even chaos
can become the manger for holiness.
you ride the clouds in wonder,
whispering parables of hope on the wind,
your compassion flames up
in the dry tinder of cruelty,
as you draw closer to us,
gliding on the breath
loaned to us by the Spirit,
your Word ready to carve rivers
in the deserts of our hearts.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 12th

“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” Philippians 3:7

so many shiny things
i wanted to accumulate
and display over the years,
those tangible proofs that
i matter, i am special—
but diplomas yellow in the frames,
trophies seem to garner more dust
than oohs and ahs from visitors,
and resumes all too often
end up in the round file.
but then, i am asked
to polish the halls of power
not walk them,
to carry food and tents
and supplies to rough sleepers,
to keep searching for the forgotten
so that, together, we might
stumble over grace,
and rather than losing
what i once believed
to be beyond price,
i am found.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman